Baltimore's AHL name: Bandits

Baltimore's latest entry into the American Hockey League has a nickname: the Bandits.

"It's unique and different, and hopefully people will like it," co-owner Bob Teck said yesterday.

The Baltimore Bandits, the minor-league affiliate of the NHL's Walt Disney-owned Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, will begin play at the Baltimore Arena this fall. The team logo, to be unveiled in early July, and nickname were selected and designed by Disney Sports Enterprises.

Club owners were presented with three concepts for the team, but settled on Bandits.

"The guys from Disney Sports Enterprises think we won't be able to keep our merchandise in stock," said Teck, who shares the majority ownership with fellow New Jersey businessman Alan Gertner.

Teck said the Disney group already has test-marketed the Bandits image at Disneyland and Disney World, and all of the feedback has been positive.

"We rejected certain names and logos, a lot of them had to do with dogs. But everybody's doing dogs. There's already the Sea Dogs and the Bulldogs. How many more dogs can you do?"

Teck and Gertner plan to showcase the new logo and uniforms after the first batch of jerseys arrives from the manufacturer.

Beginning tomorrow, club representatives will be ready to take orders for full-season ticket plans.

The full-season plan includes 40 regular-season home games and one preseason game. Tickets are priced at $14 for 100 level seating (the seats closest to the ice), $11 for middle-level seats, and $8 for upper seating.

Season-ticket holders will pay the full price for each game, but they will get discounted parking, commemorative hats and T-shirts and other amenities. Children under 14 receive $3 off any seat, and there are price breaks for groups of 20 or more.

Teck said the team got so many calls from people asking for the best season tickets in the house that several hundred were sold before the Bandits had set up shop at the arena.

"The inner circle seats [the first couple of rows closest to ice level] are gone," Teck said. "We've had such a great early response, and we're not going to turn people away."

The Bandits have not finalized their partial season-ticket plans, but fans can leave their name and phone number with the ticket representatives, and they will be notified as soon as such information becomes available.

Individual game tickets are also not available, because the 1995-96 AHL schedule is not completed. But the Bandits will play each of their Southern Division rivals (Hershey Bears, Binghamton Rangers and Carolina Monarchs) six times at home and six times on the road. The Bandits' ticket hot line number is (410) 528-0200.